


Lineage

by SilverMidnight



Category: Midnight Texas (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Self-Harm, Talks of Going Insane, Violence, talks of suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-19 09:38:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13701831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMidnight/pseuds/SilverMidnight
Summary: Going through his ancestors diaries Manfred finds some interesting information.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Don't ask me what is going on with this story. I really don't know, but I like it so I'm rolling with it!
> 
> If you want to be kept up to date with any upcoming stories or want to ask me to write a story for you please follow me on Facebook or on Tumblr under SilverMidnight52! I own nothing.

Placing the book he was reading on the table Manfred reached back to scratch at his neck trying to get it rid of the itchy feeling that was there. For the first time since he had gotten to Midnight it was a quiet day. The type of day the meant relaxing at home doing nothing.

Of course that was not what he decided to do that day. No, instead he was at Home Cookin' reading something he grabbed from the trailer and working on his third cup of coffee since he got there. An hour previously.

With everything that had been happening in the town he thought it a good idea to read over some of the things that his ancestors wrote. It was always a good idea to go into battle with some knowledge under your belt.

Anyway he had been meaning to read them since he was a kid. The trailer was filled with so many books that it was practically a library at that point. Given a library filled with gypsy diaries and spell books and curses and everything in between, but still a lot of information.

At that point in time the information was telling him that he needed to learn a few more languages. He had the English and the French down path fairly well, but the Romanian was giving him a lot of trouble even with the translator he found.

Sometimes he couldn't help but curse his Grandmother. She had known that she wasn't going to be there for all of his life and she still hadn't given him the tools that he'd need to be the last Bernardo standing. That sounded like a bad game show.

When it came down to it he was the only living person that he knew of that could do what he did. No one else was there to help him along the way. He was stuck trying to figure it out on his own and hoping he didn't fuck it up.

Except he already was. Day in and day out it felt as if the world was crumbling around him. He had had no idea what he was getting into when he had decided that listening to the woman and going to Midnight was a good plan.

It seemed like every other day a new supernatural being was coming out of the woodwork to try to kill everyone. Then there was the group of complete strangers that for some reason decided to adopt him. It was more than he signed up for.

All he had wanted, all he had ever wanted, was a nice peaceful life. A normal life. Which he wasn't ever going to happen. He saw spirits. There was no way that he was ever going to be a normal person.

He always thought though that if he ever decided to settle down in one place it was going to be as far away from the supernatural as he could possibly get. Not in a town where three fourth of the people were supernatural themselves.

He had to admit though that it wasn't as if he had tried to get away once he realized what was going on. He did the one thing that he should have known better than to do. He got a little attached to the people in the town.

Never in his life had he been around so many odd people that weren't related to him. It was nice to not have to worry about whether they thought he was a freak or if they were thinking of ways to get him committed to a psych hospital again.

For the first time he was in a place where odd behavior was the norm. He could hold full conversations with a spirit and no one would think less of him. Not that he was ever going to do that, but the knowledge that he had the choice was more freeing than he had thought.

At least most of the time it felt that way. Other times he realized that he was still the weird one. Yes, Lem was a vampire and Fiji was a witch, but in the supernatural world those were fairly common. The Rev being a weretiger was a bit unusual, but that was the tiger part not the were part.

A psychic though. They were rare. Well, psychics like him were. There were some that could read auras and see spirit animals. Some could help clean a person's mind and soul. Others even had the abilities to see the ties that bound people to others.

Then there were the hundreds of fakes out there. The ones that had no idea what it meant to have the gift of sight. He would never understand why people pretended to be psychic. It wasn't as if it was a solid life plan.

Sure, the money was decent if you could find the right people, but it wasn't that simple. It wasn't just seeing the ghosts on demand and talking to them whenever he decided to. There was no control with seeing the dead.

It was days without sleep because your dreams were filled with others nightmares. It was getting damn good a meditation because if you didn't get away from the ghosts you would go insane. It was never letting your guard down in fear of being possessed.

When he was younger he had been enthralled with his family history. If generations before him had been able to handle the Bernardo family secret than they must have written down the answers to all his questions. He had wanted to learn everything he could to keep himself safe and sane.

That was when he had first started to read the books in the trailer. Well, they weren't so much books as they were diaries. It seemed as if most people in his family had written things down at least once in their lifetime.

A lot of them were in languages he couldn't read, but the few that he could understand were terrifying to a child to say the least. That was a lie. They weren't just terrifying to a child, but an adult as well.

It wasn't until he started to read through the diaries that he started to fear his powers. Nothing said 'have fun with your psychic powers' as finding out just how much pain and damage was done to pretty much everyone that had ever been cursed with said powers.

He had barely gotten through one full diary before he couldn't read anything else. It was so much darker than he ever could have imagined. Yes, he knew that seeing spirits wasn't exactly a happy thing, but he hadn't known.

After that first diary he had to started to flick through a few others looking for key words. Hoping that it was just a one time thing. No matter which one he went through though they all ended the same. Suicide.

It was shocking just how many of his ancestors had ended up killing themselves. Not just killing themselves either, but going completely mad before hand. It was like they finally gave into the ghosts. That was one of the scariest things that he could never forget about.

Ever since his powers had fully kicked in he had been taught to keep his guard up. That he had to be in control or the ghosts were going to do that for him. Every day he had to keep in mind just how dangerous the life he lead was.

If something happened then he was alone in the battle. It wasn't as if anyone else could see what was going on around him. He and he alone could had the ability to see the spirits all around them and he had to be careful

It was easy to forget that now that he was in Midnight. He was surrounded by people that cared about him and were willing to have his back in any fight. Somehow that made him feel weaker than when he had been alone. Almost as if all his walls were being lowered.

Xylda had taught him that that was the worst thing he could do. If his guard was down than it was only a matter of time before he was dead. He had been forced to spend hours in the trailer learning that lesson. Keeping himself safe from the ghosts around him had to be his number one priority.

It was so odd to think about it that way. Neither him nor his Grandmother had ever taken good care of themselves. They ate horribly, barely slept through the night without pills, and drank more alcohol than water. He was surprised everyday he was still alive.

Even now he didn't take the best care of himself. It was more doing his best not to die. Sort of. Between not taking care of himself physically and being in the middle of pretty much ever supernatural fight… He lead a very confusing life. He wasn't sure he liked it.

"Good morning, Manfred," someone greeted walking into the backroom causing him to jump.

A soft chuckle came from the Reverend's throat as he held his hands up when the younger man looked at him. Shaking his head at his own jumpiness Manfred gave the man an embarrassed smile as he sat down.

He didn't know why he had been so surprised that the other man had shown up. It was something that he did every day around that time. Well, every day that didn't involve running from something that wanted to kill them. Reaching back he unconsciously scratched at his neck again.

"Light reading?" the Rev asked motioning towards the diary.

"I wouldn't call it that," the psychic offered shaking his head as he picked the book up once more, "More tragedy."

"Oh? I didn't take you as someone that read tragedies recreationally."

"I'm not… I mean it's not so much recreation as it is history."

The were looked confused at that. Not that Manfred could blame him. It was confusing. If he hadn't known about it for pretty much all of his life he wouldn't quite understand the Bernardo family history himself.

"April 6, 1894," Manfred started to read not questioning why he was doing so, "I had to cover the mirrors in my home with towels. I had to stop seeing… In all my years of seeing spirits I have never run into one like this. They have no face. At least not one that I have seen. I don't know if I'm grateful for that or not. For the first time I am starting to feel as insane as Hetty claimed I as when I told her of my gifts. I worry she will take my child from me. I don't know if I could stop her if she did. I feel as weak as a baby calf being turned out for slaughter. I am afraid. I am afraid for my child. I am afraid for myself. I am afraid for everyone that has ever stepped inside of my home. I fear that if there is a God he has turned his back on me. Though I also fear that I will be seeing him sooner than I like. I pray to every being I know that I am not greeted with flames when I die. I've always hated fire."

Placing the book down Manfred's hand moved to the back of his neck once more as he looked over at the Rev and saw the man staring at him. Which wasn't that surprising. It wasn't really the happiest entry in the diary.

"Interesting," the Rev said after a pregnant pause.

"I'm pretty sure that it was written by my great great aunt," Manfred shrugged dropping his hand to the table once more, "The family tree is still somewhere in the trailer."

"Do you have many diaries like that?"

"Oh yeah. The trailer is filled with everything that my family has ever touched over the centuries."

"It must be interesting to have such an in-depth history of your lineage."

"I'm not sure I'd use the word 'interesting'."

"What do you mean?"

Manfred opened his mouth to explain his meaning only to stop when he looked at the older man. It suddenly occurred to him what he was doing. The last thing that he should be doing was talking about his family history.

The Rev was watching him with those calm, understanding brown eyes though. As if he was more than willing to take on some of the load if he was asked to. If he had any doubt that the man was in the wrong kind of work it was gone with that look.

He has been taught that it was a good thing not to talk to others. All that lead to was too many questions that he didn't want to answer or couldn't answer.. It was just too difficult to explain his life to people that didn't have his powers.

A part of him didn't want to explain either. His life was pretty much a walking nightmare. While he was sure that the weretiger could relate he couldn't do that to the man. They might be friends, but some things were best kept secret.

"Can I ask you a question?" the psychic asked his nails digging into his neck.

"Of course," the Reverend responded with a smile.

"Do you like being called Reverend or Rev? Or would you rather be called by your name?"

The older man cocked his head to this side before an understanding smile came to his lips. Normally Manfred would hate being so see through, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. He needed to not be talking about his family anymore

"I will respond to either, but if you'd like I'd be okay with being called Emilio," the Rev offered after a moment.

"Alright," he nodded his head before clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Manfred, I will not force you to talk about anything you don't wish to. That is not my place. I am simply here because I consider you to be a friend and you looked as if you needed some company. Whether we talk about what is on your mind or anything else I do not care."

Smiling at the man's words Manfred felt himself relax a little. He had no idea why he was so afraid of talking right then, but he couldn't help but feel thankful towards the man for not questioning what was going on with him

"Sorry," he offered with a slight smile.

"It's alright," he smiled before motioning to the rest of the restaurant, "Everyone that comes to Midnight has secrets that they don't want to confront. It's not our job to judge, but be friends and family and be there if the past comes knocking."

"Is 'Reverend' a synonym for 'fortune cookie'"

"It is not the first time I've heard that."

"I'm shocked."

The older man shook his head a chuckle falling from his lips again causing Manfred to smile. After that the two men sat at the table not talking. It was surprisingly comfortable simply sitting there. More comfortable than he felt in awhile.

"I apologize, but I have to go," the older man finally said standing up, "I like being at the church in case anyone needs me."

"Good to know you're easy to find," Manfred smile with a nod of his head.

"It's a small town. There's no place to hide."

"From fortune cookie to ominous in five seconds flat. I'm impressed."

"I provide many services."

Snorting the younger man shook his head as the other man left. The smile didn't leave his lips as he grabbed the diary and started out of the restaurant himself his hand already reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask me what is going on with this story. I really don't know, but I like it so I'm rolling with it!
> 
> If you want to be kept up to date with any upcoming stories or want to ask me to write a story for you please follow me on Facebook or on Tumblr under SilverMidnight52! I own nothing.

Shutting the door to his house behind him Manfred brushed his hand against his arm as he leaned his head against the door. A part of him wanted nothing more than to go back inside, crawl into bed, and fall into a nice coma.

He had been feeling so tired lately. Which was odd considering just how much sleep he was getting. Not to brag or anything, but he had officially reached four hours a night. It hadn't helped though. He still felt as if he was going to pass out more often than not.

He couldn't explain it. Though there was a lot of things that he couldn't explain happening in Midnight at that moment. Actually there was one thing happening in Midnight that he couldn't explain. Nothing.

As bad as it sounded he had gotten used to having some big bad come into the town once a week and try to kill them all. It was the system that was in place now that the veil was starting to unravel. It wasn't a good system, but it was still the system.

The fact that it had been so long since anyone new had shown up put him and everyone else on edge. Okay, so it put him on edge. To everyone else it was rather normal to have nothing be happening in the place.

He was the new person in the town and so far his experience there was filled with beings that wanted him and everyone else dead. Based off the stories that everyone else told though that wasn't the town at all.

It was peaceful and quiet. The type of place you went when you wanted the world to stop spinning for awhile. People lived there to escape the bad that had already happened in their lives away from Midnight. It was a safe haven.

At least it was supposed to be. The veil fraying meant that every bad creature that had ever existed was coming there and that they had to fight to keep it the haven that they all wanted. Everything being quiet wasn't much of a fight. It was the calm before the storm.

Not that he had told anyone else his concern. He wanted so badly that he was just being paranoid. That he just needed to relax a little and enjoy the peace that they had while it lasted. It wouldn't stay this way for long.

His paranoia was not helped any by the diary he was reading. For some odd reason reading entry after entry of his ancestors going mad made him feel like he was going to start to follow their footsteps. Manfred snorted at that his nails scratching at his forearm.

The last thing that he was going to do was go insane like they did. Especially since they all went insane because they were seeing things. He wasn't seeing anything. At all. He hadn't seen a single thing in days.

Even when Midnight was at its quietest it wasn't quiet to him. There were still spirits everywhere. It was the same no matter where he went. It was just a perk of being a psychic that could see the dead. You never stopped seeing.

Midnight, unsurprisingly, was filled to the brim with ghosts. A lot of them ignored him and went about their undead lives like it was completely normal. They even had a little community of their own. A handful of those ghosts would even greet him like it was just another day.

There were also a few that were like every other ghost he had ever met. They'd figure out that he could see them and then start to yell and scream for his attention. They were the ones that would do the normal everyday 'look I'm a ghost' type of haunting.

Then there were the special ones. The spirits of the people that lived and died in Midnight that hated what it stood for even in death. The whole point of their haunting was to tell him just how wrong his and the rest of their lives were and how all of them would burn in hell. Those were fun.

Manfred couldn't believe that he actually missed seeing those spirits. The whole town had just gone completely quiet though. It felt wrong to not be able to see them. He truly hated every second of being so… Normal.

Which was ironic since he had wanted to be normal for so long. He had thought that that was what he should go after. That if he woke up and didn't have his powers one day that his life would finally get better. How wrong he was.

Yes, he hated his powers sometimes but without them he felt as if he had lost a part of who he was. It was as if for the first time he was no longer Manfred Bernardo. He really needed to stop saying his full name like that.

As he stood there he felt a shiver run down his spine causing him to tighten his jacket around himself. A familiar weight had taken up residence on his shoulders and he couldn't help but savor it for a moment.

It felt as if someone was standing just behind him. The feeling was one that Manfred had long since gotten used to. It happened every time a spirit was around. A little forewarning that stopped him from jumping out of his skin.

Standing up fully the psychic turned around slowly not knowing what he was going to see. The last thing he expected was to see no one. His nails dug at his forearm through his jacket as he looked around trying to find someone.

Shaking his head he turned back to face the door wondering if maybe the spirit would talk to him if they weren't being looked at. After a moment of standing there though no one spoke. He was alone. Manfred felt more than a little frustrated. He could feel a spirit, but he couldn't see them.

Steeling him to not see anyone he turned around again pulling his jacket closer as he started towards Home Cookin'. It would never not surprise him just how quickly the temperature dropped when the sun went down. It was like he was in a totally different place when it was night time.

Still, right after the sun went down was when the town was most active. Mostly because it was when Lem first woke up. It was a little bit of a tradition that they would all met at the restaurant once the vampire was awake and go over what happened that day. Not that there was anything to tell.

"Manfred," Lem greeted walking up to him with Olivia and Fiji, "Enjoying the new found peace?"

"Peace?" he laughed scratching at his forearm.

"See?" Olivia smirked crossing her arms and moving to his side, "Psychic boy gets it."

"Oh, you two," Fiji shook her head in amusement, "You don't have to be so paranoid all the time. Sometimes a quiet week is just a quiet week. Anyway, we deserve it after everything that's been happening."

"And sometimes," Manfred offered opening the door to the restaurant for them, "The universe is lulling you into a false sense of security so it could laugh all the harder when it kicks you in the balls."

Laughing along with Olivia he watched as the other two brushed past him and went to the backroom. It shouldn't be as amusing to teas them as it was but sometimes it was too easy. Based off the smile on the assassin's lips she agreed with him on that.

"Come on," she smirked motioning with her head, "Dinner time."

"Buying me dinner?" the psychic teased as they followed the other two, "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Fiji, he's onto the plan. If we don't kill him now no stew for winter."

"He's too skinny," Fiji waved her hand at them not bothering to look back, "We'll have to wait until next year."

Olivia shrugged as she passed him her eyes trailing over him suggestively. He couldn't help but snort as he fell into the chair between to Emilio and Chuy. The men nodded their greetings as they continued their conversations they were already in.

For a moment the man just sat there listening to the noise going on around him. He wasn't really a fan of hearing everyone talking at once, but sometimes it was rather nice to just sit there and not have to think or do anything.

"Are you alright over there, Manfred?" Chuy questioned looking at him with barely concealed concern.

"Of course," he replied calmly turning to the man, "Why do you ask?"

"You've been scratching at your arm since you sat down."

Blinking a few times he looked down at his arm and saw that that man's words were true. He was scratching at his forearm though his jacket. Slowly he pulled his hand away and placed it on the table trying not to notice how both he and the Reverend were watching him now.

"Dry skin," came the lie before he could even think of an answer.

The demon stared at him for a moment before nodding his head and turning back to his lover. Emilio though continued to stare at him for a moment seeing straight though the lie. Manfred was almost completely positive that the man was going to call him on it, but instead he stared.

"Fiji has a wonderful balm that might be able to help," Emilio offered after a heavy moment.

Nodding his head Manfred thanked every god and goddess he knew that Madonna decided to show up at that moment with food. He did think he could handle having those piercing eyes on him anymore.

As he ate he made sure not to look at the other man. Though he felt the man staring at him no matter what he did. It was like he was watching him for some sign that he was going to do something stupid or crazy.

He couldn't take sitting there under the microscope any longer. As soon as he was done eating he was on his feet saying that he needed to go home. Which got him some more looks, but they didn't really question him on that

He felt more than a little shaky as he left the restaurant, but he had to get away from the Reverend's eyes. With a shake of his head the man forced himself to calm down and started his way home his hand coming up to scratch at his arm once more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I finally have an idea of what it going to happen with the story. I also could be completely wrong.
> 
> If you want to be kept up to date with any upcoming stories or want to ask me to write a story for you please follow me on Facebook or on Tumblr under SilverMidnight52! I own nothing.

Swallowing roughly Manfred scratched at his thigh as he made he started to walk through the town. He didn't really have a place in mind, but it was a nice morning and he needed to get out of his house. He couldn't stand sitting there reading for another minute.

When he had started reading the diaries he had thought that he'd only do it between everything else that was happening. He hadn't thought that everything would suddenly stop and leave him with nothing but time to read.

He felt like he was going insane sitting there going over his family history. It was… The last thing he had thought was that anyone in the Bernardo family had lead a good life, but he could never have guessed what happened.

The first time he had seen a spirit he hadn't known what was going on. It was usual for a child not to be told about the family secret until they started to show signs of having the secret themselves. Just a little added protection.

Not that there were a lot of people that didn't have it. Though that might not be a fair assessment since there weren't a lot of Bernardo's around anymore. As far as he knew the family could very well end with him. He still hadn't found the family tree.

The only thing that he did know was the past had a way of repeating itself. Not every time. Some of his ancestors had died in rather ordinary ways. They were never very old when they died, but there was nothing odd about it.

But then there were a handful of ones that were worrisome. Like how a guy from seven or eight generations ago, for a reason none of his family could figure out, decided that he would sit in a field and eat nothing but foxglove.

For anyone else that might have been categorized as a stupid mistake, but he wasn't just someone. According to his sisters diary he spent his free time learning everything he could about plants. The last thing that someone like that would do was eat a plant as poisonous as foxglove.

There were more stories like that as well. A person would just decide one day to kill themselves and there was no clues behind it. Well, that wasn't exactly true. There was one pretty big clue. Their diaries.

By the last few months of their entries it was like they were a different person. Like all of their sanity had been ripped out of them and all that left was a paranoid shell of a person that was willing to do anything to make it stop.

He had been trying to gather information from all the diaries so he could have some idea what had happened, but they were all different. One was a spirit with no face. Another was the sound of footsteps. A different one had a word appearing in mirrors.

The only thing he knew for sure was that the people had lost their minds after while of whatever was following them. He just wasn't sure if it was actually someone following them or if they had just gone insane. It made a lot of sense given everything they saw.

It also made him worry about himself. With everything that was, or wasn't, going on in Midnight it felt like he was losing his mind as well. It was just too damn quiet. The veil was fraying something had to be happening somewhere!

He had thought about bringing it up to someone in the town, but he couldn't do that. They were all peaceful once again and the last thing that he wanted to do was make them as paranoid as he was. Especially is nothing was happening.

It wasn't the easiest thing to do, but he could brush his thoughts away and let everyone else be happy. After everything that had already happened in the small town the residents could use a little happiness again. He wasn't going to be the one to ruin that. At least he hoped not.

"Manfred," Fiji greeted warmly from her front yard, "We missed you at dinner. Why are you still walking around?"

"What?" he questioned blinking a few times before looking around.

The psychic felt his heart sped up when he noticed that the sun had gone down. Based off how cold he suddenly was it had gone down awhile ago. Which made no sense to him. He had just left the house and that had been about 9 in the morning. It had to be almost 10 at night.

"I..." Manfred tried to start spinning around hoping that something would change.

"Are you… Oh my Goddess. Stop!"

The witch rushed towards him and grabbed his hand before he could ask her what she was talking about. Feeling more than a little confused he looked down at their hands and saw blood on his finger tips.

His eyes went wide as he looked past their hands and to his thigh. There was a patch of blood seeping through holes in his jeans. Which was odd considering the jeans were fairly new and had no holes when he put them on that morning.

It took a second after that before the pain finally hit him. Grunting he reached out with his free hand and grabbed hold of the fence trying to take the balance off of his wounded leg. How he had been walking around like that was beyond him.

"Come on," Fiji said looping his arm around her shoulder, "Let's get inside. I have something that will help."

Not knowing what else to do the younger man let her lead him into her home and to the couch. He sat there quietly holding his thigh hoping that it wouldn't take long before the witch was back with something to help.

"You're going to need to take off your pants!" she yelled from a different room.

Shaking his head Manfred decided that the last thing he wanted to do was fight or question anything. Instead he climbed to his feet the best he could and undid his jeans. He couldn't help but whimper when the denim pulled at the wound.

He didn't lat long before he was sitting back on the couch with his eyes shut trying to keep from throwing up. It wasn't by any means the first time he was injured, but it hurt more than he wanted to deal with.

"Oh, Manfred," Fiji muttered walking up to him and kneeling down, "What happened?"

"I don't..." the psychic began only to catch sight of the sky through the window, "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven."

"I've been walking for fourteen hours?"

The gentle hands froze for a moment when he said that before she continued to work on trying to heal the wounds that he had inflected on himself. The pair sat there in silence both lost in thoughts that scared them.

Manfred just barely felt the warmth of her healing as he sat there. He had lost fourteen hours in one days. All because he was walking around. That was something that he had never done before. He didn't get lost in thought like that.

Yeah, he had done an hour or two when he was really frustrated about something, but never that long before. Then there was the fact he missed lunch and dinner? No, it made no sense to him. Nothing made sense to him.

"There you go," she said offering him what was supposed to be a happy smile, "Good as new. I'll have you take some with you for the sunburn that's coming. Would you like a cup of tea or…? I have some left over Shepard's Pie?"

"Please," Manfred replied his voice barely over a whisper.

The woman nodded her head before she got to her feet and went into the kitchen. There was a nervousness in the air that had him almost wishing that he had refused her, but he felt too sick to do that.

Tapping his foot against the ground Manfred looking around the home as he waited for her to come back. It was nicely decorated and screamed home. He wondered if he'd ever have a place like that himself.

He ran a hand over his face only to hiss when the sunburn that she said was forming was bothered. Not knowing what part of his body hurt the least he let his hand drop to his thigh his nails unconsciously scratching at the freshly healed skin.

As he sat there taking in the house he found himself picturing some of the places that he had seen as a kid. Xylda had worked with a few witches over the years and all of them had houses like Fiji's. So warm and inviting.

Manfred had always liked to think that that had something to do with their magic. That they worked so hard to keep their minds and souls in balance that it translated to their homes as well. It was all just peaceful.

It was similar to his own. Though he had always noticed that there was a difference in energy to them. It wasn't something that he had ever been able to explain. Their magic was very different, but in the same vein.

Xylda had tried more times to get him into learning about his own magic, but he had been reluctant to learn anything more than a basics. The last thing he wanted to do was add more insanity into his life. He wasn't sure that was going to work anymore.

Which was saying something since the town had gone completely quiet. If he wanted to it would be the perfect time to start learning a little more magic. It would give his mind something else to focus on instead of the diaries.

As he sat there thinking he started to feel more and more trapped. It was like he was… Like there was a hand on his throat that was tightening. Sadly after all the spirits that had jumped his body that was a feeling that he knew quite well. That and being shot and stabbed and… The list went on.

Instantly he was thinking that he wasn't alone in his own body. It would explain so much of what was happening to him, but he was in Fiji's home. Nothing dead could enter. There was no ghost around him or in him.

"Here we are," the witch said happily walking over to him with a plate as well as a cup of tea, "Sorry it took so long. I was… Manfred!"

"What?" Manfred questioned his eyes darting around the room looking for something dangerous.

"You're scratching again."

Looking down he saw that she was right. There were red marks forming on his thigh in the same place that they had been before. Luckily, there was no blood. He hadn't even realized that he was doing that again.

Drawing his shaking hand away he took the plate from her and set in on the table. The psychic knew that he was starving, but he honestly thought that he was going to be sick if he put anything in his his stomach.

"Manfred?" Fiji questioned placing her hand on top of the fresh scratches.

"I'm sorry," he tried not looking at her.

His heart beat heavily as he sat there repeating to himself that there was nothing wrong with him. It was all in his head. He had just read too many of the diaries. It was like watching scary movies at night. You knew that there was nothing in the house, but your mind twisted everything around until it felt like you weren't alone.

It was just paranoia and he had to get it under control. Paranoia was never a good thing in his line of living. It caused the world to seem a lot smaller than it was. That was the last thing that he could deal with everything else.

"Manfred," Fiji tried again only to stop when he stood up and started towards the door not bothering to put his pants back on.

"Sorry," he shook his head scratching at his leg, "I don't know..."

"It's… You're scratching again."

"I think the quiet is getting to me."

"Manfred…"

"I'm sorry, Fiji. I just… I need… Something is…

"You're..."

"I'm being paranoid. That's it. I'm just being paranoid. I just got used to it being chaos. I'm not sure how to handle calm."

"Manfred..."

"Really. I'm sorry. I'm fine. I am and I should go. Maybe take a nap. Eat something. Sorry for interrupting your night. Sleep well."

"Manfred!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was not what I thought I was going to write. I do know that the story is almost over though! And that the next chapter might MIGHT not be from Manfred's pov! I hope you're liking whatever the hell this is!
> 
> If you want to be kept up to date with any upcoming stories or want to ask me to write a story for you please follow me on Facebook or on Tumblr under SilverMidnight52! I own nothing.

Blinking slowly Manfred stared at the front door watching as the person outside paced across the porch. They had been there for a few hours just waiting for him to let his guard down enough so they could come in.

He didn't know how it happened, but Fiji's spell was breaking. Every time he closed his eyes he could feel it weakening more. It wouldn't be too long before it was gone completely and the thing outside came in for good.

That was why he had decided to forgo sleep for another night. He couldn't risk them getting any stronger than they already were. Instead he sat at the table watching. His nails scratching senselessly at his bare stomach.

He couldn't help but toss his head back and laugh almost manically as the being froze for a second outside of the door. As if it thought he had stopped. He couldn't believe that the being that was trying to break in was stupid enough to think that he didn't know what was going on.

He had known though. He had known that something like this was going to happen. That something truly evil was sitting just outside of the town waiting. Once it had them where it wanted it could swoop in and none of them would be prepared to fight.

That was exactly what had happened too. The rest of the Midnighter's had started to relax. They all thought that they had finally gotten a well deserved break after everything that had been thrown their way. Even Olivia was getting back into the flow of how Midnight normally was.

They were wrong. Things weren't getting back to normal. There was no peace. The thing they were up against was smarter than them. It was just lulling them into a false sense of peace so it would be an easy kill. There would be no fight. Just death.

Manfred couldn't believe that no one else had seen through the ruse. They had all been blinded by their desires. Were they all that desperate for things to get back to normal that they were ignoring the facts?

He wasn't blind though. He could see the truth and it was all thanks to his ancestors diaries. They all kept him in the frame of mind to see what was really going on around him. To see what happened if he stopped listening to his own mind.

The world was a dangerous place for psychic's. Having the ability to see and talk to the dead came at a cost. It was so easy to be driven insane by one ghost or another if you didn't know what you were doing. It even happened if you knew what you were doing. It wasn't an easy life by any means.

He had been told by his great grandmother once before she died that their family had been given a great gift. The Bernardo line was a strong one. That if he ever did want to have children he had to pick the right person. Someone that could last.

Their family had been part of the magical community for millennia. The magic that they had coursing through their veins was an ancient one that not many people could tap into anymore. No one even knew how they got their magic in the first place.

A few people had tried to find out over the years, but as far as he knew they never figured it out. Or, if they did, they hid it well enough that he wouldn't be able to find it. He hadn't even been able to find his family tree.

He didn't know why he felt like the tree so important, but he did. There was something on it that… No, It didn't matter. There was nothing that the tree that could help him with whatever it was that was after him.

What he needed to do was focus on the being that was pacing outside of his house. He could still see the shadow as it passed by the windows. Lurking. Waiting. For him to break and let his guard down.

He had been around enough spirits that he had a fairly good idea that the being was a woman. There was something about the way that she walked. Almost like the spirits he had seen wearing something from the Elizabethan era.

The fact that he knew what era the ghost was probably from made him want to shake his head. Being able to tell when a ghost was from was a little known skill of his that had come in handy more than once. At least it made it a little easier to explain.

People from different era's had different outlooks on life. If he could talk to them how they were used to being talked to than it would be all the easier to get them to finally move on and leave him alone.

With a shake of his head Manfred lifted the hand off his stomach and unknowingly carded his bloody fingers through his hair before it fell back down. Forcing himself to take a deep breath he leaned forward and picked up the knife he had resting on the table.

He had never been that big a fan of weapons, after how many time he had been forced to relive being stabbed he didn't think anyone could blame him for that, but he knew that there was a place and time for them. It was that time.

A part of him wanted to rush out the back door and go find Olivia and Joe or someone to help him fight, but they didn't believe him. They were all lost in the delusion that everything was fine. He was fighting this being alone.

It scared him just how alone he felt thinking that. Ever since he had gotten to Midnight he had been surrounded by people. Even when he wanted to be alone someone was there. Usually with a smile and a sarcastic word.

It was nice finally having a place where he felt that he could relax a little. He had been so stupid to think that. There was no relaxing for people like him. No, his life was just one battle after another and he had to realize that.

Gripping the knife tightly he pulled it closer to him as the shadow stopped in front of the door once more. Not bothering to be quiet he stood up and started to make his way over ready for this battle to be finished once and for all.

Before he could get more than a few steps though he heard the doorknob start to turn. His heart picked up sped realizing that the warding had failed. Everything that was outside of his home was going to come rushing in.

"Manfred?" Bobo questioned barely pushing the door enough to peak his head inside, "You okay in there?"

For a moment the psychic wanted to drop the knife and reach out for his friend, but it hit him almost instantly that that was what the being wanted him to do. It was messing with his mind. Bobo wasn't at the door. It was.

Clenching his jaw he stopped moving and waited. It didn't take long before 'Bobo' was walking through the door his eyes darting around the space like he was searching for something. Maybe that was what was going on.

The trailer had been filled with so many books and trinkets. Things that he had slowly been bringing into the house. He must have brought something that the being wanted inside. That's why it was there.

"Manfred!" Bobo yelled when his eyes finally landed on him, "What the hell..."

Anger filled the psychic hearing the thing talk in his friend's voice. He couldn't let the being do that. So he rushed forward lifting the knife in the air. A look of surprise was on 'Bobo's' face as he was knocked backwards the knife coming down to cut his arm.

Whatever it was that was pretending to be the man had thought that he was too weak to fight. Some spirits were just so stupid and egotistical. They always thought that they could outwit whomever they were around.

Using that shock to his advantage Manfred rammed 'Bobo' into the wall and brought the knife up again. If he did this right all it would take was one stab and then it would be all over. The town would be safe again.

"Manfred!" 'Bobo' grunted out when his back hit the wall.

He refused to listen to the words though. The only thing that would lead to was more blood shed. He had to end it now before the thing thought it a good idea to go after anyone else. He had to kill it.

The knife arched towards the being's chest and for a moment he was sure that he had one. Before it could dig into its flesh though a fist was swinging out to crack into his jaw causing him to stab the knife into its arm instead as he fell to the floor.

A growl left his lips as he stood up once more launching himself at 'Bobo'. Nothing was going to stop him from killing it before it did any more damage. If he had to do that by hand than he was more than willing.

"Manfred, stop!" it tried as the psychic punched it in the side, "Manfred! It's me. It's Bobo!"

Hearing the thing use that name though only made him angrier. If it thought he was truly stupid enough to fall for that than it had another thing coming. He wasn't going to stop. He was never going to stop.

'Bobo' seemed to get that as he blocked another punch before sending one of his own. The two of them went crashing to the floor both trying to get control over the other. He couldn't let that happen. If he did than the thing had the rest of Midnight under its control.

Even with that in mind though he could feel his strength dwindling. Every punch and kick that he threw at the being was weaker than the last. It wouldn't be long now before it would kill him and move on.

With what little strength he had left the psychic kneed 'Bobo' in the stomach and crawled out from under him. He was able to scramble to his feet just as the door swung open again and more people came inside.

For a moment he was happy seeing Olivia and Joe, but then he really looked at them. They weren't his friends. They were like 'Bobo'. Their images were being used in hopes that it would stop him from fighting.

"No!" he cried out launching himself at the two new comers.

He didn't get far before 'Bobo' was wrapping an arm around his waist holding him back from doing any real damage. That didn't stop Manfred from trying to get away though. Clawing, kicking, screaming he did everything he could to get away from the being.

"Something's wrong," 'Joe' called out his hands coming to try to hold Manfred as well.

"You think?" came 'Olivia's' sarcastic reply.

"No! His eyes. They're white."

He had no idea what game the being's were playing at, but he had had enough of it. Lifting his leg up as much as he could he brought it down painfully on one of the legs. 'Bobo' let out a stilted scream as he fell to the floor finally hurt too much to fight.

"That's it," 'Olivia' growled out throwing a punch hard enough that he was knocked out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again. I have no idea this was what I was going to do, but I have to say that I like it. It's a good ending and a good explanation. Tell me what you think! I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted!!!
> 
> If you want to be kept up to date with any upcoming stories or want to ask me to write a story for you please follow me on Facebook or on Tumblr under SilverMidnight52! I own nothing.

"There we are," Fiji said with a smile pulling her hands away from Bobo's leg, "You might want to stay off it for awhile to let it heal up fully, but you'll be fine. What happened again?"

The man sighed leaning back fully on the couch not wanting to go through the story for the fifth time. In fact the only thing he wanted to do was limp back to his home and sleep for the rest of the week.

Actually, at the moment he'd take just not thinking about the last two hours of his life. It might not be the first time that he had ever gotten into a fight, but it was different than before. Mostly because it was with someone he truly cared about.

Manfred wasn't the type of person that got into fist fights like that. He could fight and use a gun, but it wasn't what he did if he had another choice. The fact that he had thought that he didn't have one hurt.

It made him question what was going on with the man that made him see him as an enemy. Not just an enemy either, but someone that he truly wanted to kill. Had it been something that he had done or was it…

Bobo had no idea what he was supposed to think about it all. It made no sense that the psychic would start a fight. Well, he wasn't really sure he could call it a fight. It was more of the guy trying to kill him! He was never going to get over that.

At least not until he found out why his friend had ended up going insane on him like that. Ever since he had gotten to Fiji's house he had been thinking about what had happened and trying to figure it out.

Everyone knew that there was something going on with Manfred. He had been acting more than a little strangely for the past few weeks, but he doubted that any of them had thought that he was capable of what he did.

They should have paid more attention to him. They had all thought that the man was having a hard time adjusting to the peace that was Midnight when it wasn't under attack. It wasn't an easy thing to get used to when people first came to the town.

He could still remember what it was like when he moved in. Every few seconds he was looking over his shoulder waiting for someone to start fighting him. He had even carried around a gun for a little over a year because he was worried.

Fiji had opened her heart and her home to him though. She had shown him what the town was really about and he had let his guard down. After that he had fallen in love with Midnight and he knew that nothing would ever make him leave.

That was something that they all went through. Every single Midnighter was that way. All of them came from a place that was less than pleasant. All of them were a little paranoid by the time they got there.

With Manfred it was a little different because as soon as he got there things went to hell in a hand basket. He had never had the chance to really stop running and find out that he really did belong there.

He went from one fight to another to another without knowing who he could trust. That didn't stop them from opening their arms to him, but it had made things harder for them all. It was not the best thing for any of them.

That hadn't stopped them from trying though. It did stop them from really knowing the guy. While they did consider him to be a friend and a Midnighter they didn't know him. They had no idea what was normal and what wasn't.

Not that that was a good enough reason not to see that he was cracking. Bobo knew that every single one of them was worried about him and they all had good reason to. None of them had done anything though. Something he was really regretting now.

The truth was there had been others that came into town that acted like Manfred. Like they had no idea what they were doing there. None of them really lasted all that long before they were packing and leaving again.

While the psychic was different it was still a very big possibility that the man would do just that. The only thing any of them could do was sit there and wait for him to make up his mind. That's what they had thought he was doing.

Staying in one place after you had gone on the run was not an easy thing to do. It was almost like a war with yourself. The logical part of your brain fighting with the emotional part. It was enough to drive someone mad.

With how much Olivia loved Midnight now she had left more than a few times herself. Yes, she said that all of them were business trips, but with the way she looked when she came back they knew better than to buy that lie.

Even he had left and come back more than once. It had taken a lot out of him to do so, but he had thought that that was what he was supposed to do. That there was never going to be a place for someone like him. Anyway, no one needed to know his nightmares.

After all the years of being in Midnight he still wasn't quite sure what brought him back and made him stay. It just felt like home once he decided that he could let his walls down enough to feel something other than shame and anger.

Manfred ran just like everyone else. He had also come back, but the idea of running was still a very real one. It was just a waiting game after that to see what he was finally going to decide to do with his life.

That was actually the reason that he had decided to go down and see the psychic. He hadn't seen the man for a few days and thought that maybe going to grab some food with everyone would help him make a decision faster.

He had also heard about what had happened between Fiji and Manfred. There wasn't a lot of detail other than the fact that he had hurt himself and talked about being paranoid before rushing out of her house.

It wasn't a normal reaction to say the least, but the guy wasn't all that normal. At least he didn't think he was. Maybe he was wrong about that and he was about as normal as normal could be. He really should have gotten to know him.

All he could do was hope that they weren't too late. He couldn't believe that he was hoping that there was some supernatural element at play and that Manfred hadn't just lost his mind while no one was looking.

"Bobo?" Joe questioned knocking him out of his thoughts, "You okay?"

"Yeah," the man replied shaking his head, "Sorry. Lost in thought. What was the question?"

"Fiji asked what happened."

"I honestly don't know what to tell you. I went to see how he was doing and to see if he wanted to grab something to eat. I knocked on the door a few times, but didn't hear anything. I got worried so I tried to look through the window, but I didn't see anything. With how he had been acting I got even more worried so I used my spare key and opened the door. He was already standing up heading towards me with the knife in his hand. I don't know what he saw, but he started to attack me out of nowhere. He didn't even say anything. He just attacked."

A heavy silence filled the room after that. None of them were sure what was going on and the idea that the man had lost it that way was a scary one. Especially since it was possible that he had just lost his mind.

Shaking his head Bobo climbed onto shaky legs causing Joe to reach out ready to catch him if he fell. When nothing happened he took a deep breath and made his way through the small home and into the room where they were keeping Manfred.

Olivia was standing by the doorway keeping a sharp eye on the psychic, but she moved over a little letting him pass by. For a moment he almost wished that he had stayed in the other room and not gone to see the other man.

Manfred was wide away now though he was tried to a chair with chains. They had tried to use rope, but Olivia had pointed out that they had no idea what they were dealing with. They had to protect themselves too.

His mouth wasn't covered in anything, but he hadn't bothered to yell or demand anything. A few growled slipped out as he tried to break free, but nothing else. It was just so wrong on so many levels.

The thing that was truly terrifying though were his eyes. There were pure white. Both Fiji and Joe had pointed out that that was what they looked like when he was possessed, but that hadn't made any sense to them.

Fiji had put up a blocking on the man's house so nothing dead could enter. That wasn't something that was going to fail anytime soon. He had been in his house so there was no chance that there was a spirit in him.

His eyes were also the only reason they knew that it wasn't just him going insane. It wasn't as if that was a common sign of losing ones mind. No, there was something bigger going on and they had no idea what it was.

"Manfred," Bobo tried moving to kneel in front of his friend only to jerk back when he tried unsuccessfully to attack him once more.

"I don't think he can hear you," Olivia offered roughly from behind him.

Standing up he made his way over until he was leaning against the wall next to her. He didn't know what was going on in her head, but he doubted it was all that far off from what was going on in his own.

Something along the line of questioning whether or not they were going to be able to save him or if he was so far gone that the best thing for everyone was to just kill him. He was not happy about those thoughts.

"Well, that's new," a voice suddenly said from below him.

Blinking a few times he looked down and saw Mr. Snuggly standing there looking like he was ready to fight. It took a few seconds before Bobo remembered that he wasn't just a normal cat. He was a familiar.

"What's new?" he questioned feeling a little strange having a conversation with a cat.

"You do know what's wrong with him right?" the cat continued finally looking away from Manfred.

"No," Olivia jumped in with a glare, "Do you?"

A sigh fell from Mr. Snuggly before he was making his way back into the other room with Fiji and Joe. He spared one last look at Manfred hoping that he'd see some change. When he saw nothing he shook his head and followed the cat and Olivia.

"You got yourselves in a pickle," Mr. Snuggly said jumping onto the chair than the counter, "That boy in there is possessed."

"Nothing dead can come in this house though," Fiji tried shaking her head, "Or his house. How could he be possessed?"

"He's a psychic."

It was said in such a way that it almost felt like the conversation was over. It also made all of them just more confused. Lem had once told him that not a lot was known about psychic's. No one even knew how they had their powers. They were just there.

Now it seemed that psychic's didn't even know about themselves. Sparing a look to the backroom Bobo couldn't help but feel bad. That must have been a poor way to grow up. Manfred was lucky he was as sane as he was.

"Do you want to try making sense?" Olivia snarked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Psychic's a special," Mr. Snuggly continued after a moment, "With everything that they can see and do they are always surrounded by magic. This magic is not controlled."

"Oh Goddess," Fiji muttered before spinning around and rushing towards her books, "He's not possessed by a spirit. He's possessed by his own magic. Since he magic allows him to see the dead it is driving him insane. Making him think that he's being haunted."

"Wait," Bobo tried holding his hands up, "So it's all in his head?"

"No. Yes. In a way. Unchecked magic is dangerous in and of itself. It can cause very bad things. I'm in control of my magic because I will it that way. Manfred has an ability because of magic. No one knows how psychic's come to be, but magic has to be involved. Think of Manfred's magic as a gas leak. It's slow enough that the affects are there, but you don't notice until the gas fills the room."

Looking over at Olivia and then Joe he felt a little better seeing that he wasn't he only one that had no idea what was being said. Sometimes he was glad that he was one of the humans in their small family.

"Fiji," Joe sighed shaking his head, "Try that again."

"Okay," the witch nodded taking a deep breath, "It's been quiet in Midnight, right?"

"Yes."

"Manfred has openly admitted that he's not used to that and that he believes that we're all still in danger. That something is out there waiting to attack us."

"Right."

"Manfred has unchecked magical abilities. We all know it. He comes from old gypsy magic. In his belief that something is out there waiting to attack he accidentally conjured the very thing he was afraid of."

Blinking a few times Bobo let the words wash over him. He knew that magic was a dangerous thing in the wrong frame of mind, but he hadn't thought that it could do something like what the witch was saying.

To think that magic could end up unchecked to the point that it actually took over was a whole other nightmare that he just wasn't ready for. Though that was almost always the case when it came to Midnight.

"So," Bobo started looking at the backroom again, "The only danger Manfred is in is to himself?"

"Exactly," Fiji answered with a sad smile, "There's a spell I know though that I can use that will help. It's… It's like cleaning an aura type of thing. It will wash away the unchecked magic and hopefully wash away whatever Manfred conjured in his own mind."

"Hopefully?" Olivia questioned staring at her.

"I honestly don't know if it will work, but it's all we've got. I need to set up. Help me?"

With a nod of his head Bobo was helping carry things for the woman as she set up what she needed around Manfred. The psychic sat there growling and attempting to snap at them if they got to close, but still he didn't say anything.

He couldn't help but feel like there was a brick in his stomach. This was pretty much the only chance that they had to get the man back to himself and they had no idea if it was even going to work. He felt so useless.

Still, he moved around and did exactly what Fiji said. She seemed to know what she was doing and he wasn't going to argue. If this was all that they could do than you could be your ass that that was what they were going to do.

The sun was just starting to go down when she placed the final candle in its place. Then she was kneeling right in front of Manfred. After that she started to talk or chant. He could never be quite sure what she was doing.

All he knew was that he had no idea what she was saying. For a moment he was sure that nothing was happening. Then he caught something out of the corner of his eye. It was a dirty wisp of smoke.

He almost thought that something had happened with the candles until another wisp appeared and then another and another until the room was filled with them. He could barely see his friends through the smoke.

It took all of his control not to rush forward and disrupt the spell. He had to trust the Fiji knew what she was doing. If he interrupted the only thing that would happen was… Well, he really didn't want to think about that.

The smoke kept getting thicker and thicker until he felt like he was choking on it. His hand come up to scratch at the back of his neck. It was a move that he had seen Manfred do more than a few times.

It was almost too much for him to handle. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Like he wanted to scratch his very skin off of the bone. All he wanted to do right then was stumble out of the room and catch his breath.

Before he could do just that though he felt a gentle breeze hit his face. His closed eyes fluttered open trying to find the source of it, but there was nothing. Slowly the breeze picked up blowing the smoke away from them leaving the room clear.

Staring at Manfred and Fiji he couldn't help but hold his breath waiting to see if it had worked. Then the brown eyes of the psychic were blinking open tiredly. Bobo couldn't help but grin when he saw them.

"Ow," the psychic groaned his eyes slipping shut again, "What..."

"Shh," Fiji soothed reaching out to card a hand through his hair, "You're safe now."

"I don't..."

"I know. I'll explain what happened later. Right now go to sleep. We have you."

The man licked his lips before nodding his head his eyes slipping shut once more. Looking hopeful Bobo stepped a little closer causing the witch to turn around. The grin on her lips made him relax fully.

"He's okay?" he asked smiling himself.

"He is," she replied happily, "He's okay."


End file.
